Pivotally supported gearing



April 24, 1934. sTURM r AL 1,956,05l

PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED GEARING Filed May 24, 1953 11 I I o 4 I 9 d J 21 fnezliom':

M WW Patented Apr. 24, 1934 PATENT QFFICE I 1,956,051 PIVOTALLYSUPPORTED GEARING Fritz Sturm and Eugen Hartmann, Friedrichshafen,

Zeppelin Gesellschaft tung, Friedrichshafen, Germany Germany, assignorsto Luftschiffbau mit beschrankter Haf- Application May 24, 1933, SerialNo. 672,607 In Germany July 1, 1932 2 Claims.

Our invention relates to gears, especially to gears in airships,airplanes and vehicles of this kind in which it is desirable to have thepossibility of swinging the propeller shaft into different directions,as circumstances may afford.

Gears of this kind are not new per se. They are used especially inairships lighter than air for the purpose of letting the propeller workin horizontal as well as in vertical direction. When working inhorizontal direction the ship is propelled in the usual way, but whenpositioned to work vertically the propeller causes the ship to rise orto sink, according to the direction in which the propeller rotates. Ofcourse an airship generally has a plurality of propellers, and all ofthem or only a few may be provided for being swung so as to havedifferent directions of action. It is also possible to have intermediateinclined positions for the propeller shaft, not only horizontal orvertical.

Our invention has reference to gears of the above described type inwhich the driving shaft coming from the motor and the driven shaft arearranged substantially in alignment with each other when working forhorizontal propulsion of the airship. I provide means for having a verycompact and light gearing inclosed in a gear case so that the gears canbe running constantly in oil in spite of the propeller shaft being aptto be swung around into the desired direction for propulsion.

An example embodying our invention is represented in the drawing.

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the gear case showing the gears inview, whereas Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the same case,taken on line IIII of Fig. 1 and showing only the shafts in view.

The driving shaft 1 and the driven shaft 2 are normally in alignmentwith each other, as represented in Fig. 1, but shaft 2 can be swungaround as indicated by arrow S, shaft 3 forming the centre for suchswinging movement. Shaft 3 is journaled in recesses of gear case 4.There is a special bearing 3' provided in shaft 3 for journaling the endof propeller shaft 2. Furthermore, a thrust bearing 5 for propellershaft 2 is provided in forked member 6. This member 6 is keyed to shaft3, so as to rotate together with this shaft, subject to the inclinationgiven to propeller shaft 2.

There is a bevelled gear '7 fixed to shaft 1 and meshing with bevelledgear 8 loosely journaled on shaft 3. Gear 8 is in rigid connection withbevelled gear 9, also loosely journaled on shaft 3. Bevelled gear 11fixed to shaft 2 meshes with bevelled gear 9. The dimensions of thesegears are so chosen that the propeller shaft is driven at the desirednumber of revolutions per minute, as compared with the speed of rotationof the driving shaft.

For the purpose of tightening the gear case against loss of oil there isa member 12 in rigid connection with forked member 6 which serves forcovering the slit in the casing 6 allowing for the propeller shaft to beswung around. This member 12 is provided with adequate tightening meansat its edges or the edge of the slit may have such tightening means 13arranged in a special frame fixed to the casing 4. There are brackets 15or the like for fastening the gear case 4 to the car of the airship orto other suitable members of the vehicle in which the gearing is used.

For the purpose of swinging shaft 2 into the desired direction a wormgear 16 is fixed to forked member 6 adapted to be driven by worm 17 inany well known manner from outside of the case 4 (the means thereforbeing not represented). Worm gear 16 and a corresponding recess 19 incasing 4 are provided with inwardly extending teeth. Member 18 havingoutwardly extending teeth adapted to fit into the forementioned inwardlyextending teeth thus forming a claw coupling, can be shifted by means ofmember 21 so as to cause connection between casing 4 and gear 16 therebylocking forked member 6 and shaft 2 in the desired position ofinclination.

With our new gearing it is possible to have the airship propelled in anydesired direction and to alter this direction without being obliged tointerrupt any transmission. It is assumed that the direction of rotationof the motor can be changed so that the propeller may act in bothdirections. Instead of making the engine reversible the propeller bladesmay be made to be turned so as to cause reversion if desired.

Gears 8 and 9 may be arranged on either side with regard to shaft 2. Itis preferred to make the arrangement so that the reaction of gear 11when in the vertical position of shaft 2 and causing lifting power onthe starting airship is directed upwardly, because then the pressure onthe teeth will facilitate the swinging around of shaft 2 into itshorizontal position for forward propulsion. Therefore the place forgears 8 and 9 is subject to the normal direction of rotation of shaft 1.

We do not want to be limited to the details described or shown in thedrawing, as many variations will occur to those skilled in the art.

What we claim is: V I i 4 1. A gearing for airships and the likecomprising: a driving shaft; a driven shaft; bevelled gears for drivingsaid driven shaft by said driving shaft; both said shafts beingsubstantially in alignment with each other .in the normal position ofsaid driven shaft; means for swinging said driven shaft from its normalhorizontal position into a vertical position; said swinging meanscomprising: a stub shaft; a forked member journaled with both its armson said stub shaft; a bearing in said stub shaft for journaling the endof said driven shaft, and a thrust bearing in :said

moved with said driven shaft for covering said slit in an oil-tightmanner.

FRITZ STURM. EUGEN HARTMANN.

